1. Field
The creation relates to firearm magazine loaders, particularly to a loader and method for loading both rounds held by stripper clips or loose rounds. This creation is associated with our U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,059,077, Jun. 13, 2006, and 6,810,616, Nov. 2, 2004, and our international patent application Ser. Nr. WO2006/109315, filed Oct. 19, 2006.
2. Prior Art
Firearms, including pistols, assault rifles, and submachine guns, utilize and fire rounds (also known as cartridges and ammunition). Each round is substantially elongated and comprises a deep cuplike case (also known as a shell case and sometimes also a cartridge), usually of brass, which is filled with an explosive propellant. At its rear or closed end, the case has a rim or flange containing a primer; next to it is an extractor groove, an annular groove machined into the case which provides a grip for the gun's extractor to pull the fired or unfired case from the chamber of the firearm. The front and opposite end of the case is open. A bullet, projectile, or head, usually of lead (optionally jacketed) is partially inserted into the open or front end of the case by crimping the case onto the bullet. The open or front end of the case may be crimped down or closed in ‘blank’ rounds.
The rounds are held within and fed into the firearm from a magazine. Detachable magazines have become dominant throughout the world. The term ‘magazine’ is broad, encompassing several geometric variations, including curved magazines. Most detachable magazines are similar, varying in form and structure, rather than in their general principles of operation.
Magazines usually take the form of an elongated container having a generally rectangular cross-section, which is attached to the underside of the firearm. Magazines are commonly made of aluminum alloys, plastic, steel, or a combination. They are usually closed on five sides and open on a sixth, upwardly facing, top, side, or end, and are substantially hollow. The top or open side has a rectangular opening and includes two round-retaining members, known as feed lips, that project into or partly close the opening. An internal spring urges a follower or pusher (a shaped piece of plastic or metal) toward the open side. The follower in turn urges the rounds as a group up against the lips. The lips act as a stop for the rounds so that they are not expelled from the magazine.
Rounds are stacked or oriented in the magazine such that the longitudinal axes of the rounds are substantially parallel and perpendicular to the direction of travel of the spring and follower. Adjoining rounds are oriented side-by-side and in the same direction, i.e., the bullets of adjacent rounds are next to each other, as are the cases.
The rounds are usually stacked in the magazine, either in a single straight column or in a staggered (zigzag) column (also called double-stacked or high-capacity) fashion. The latter magazines, being wider, have a higher round capacity compared to single-column magazines of the same overall length.
Commonly, magazines of assault rifles, such as the AR-15/M-16, and submachine guns, contain staggered rounds. At the top of such magazines, the lips alternately retain the left and right top-most round, as the rounds are fed up and picked off. The top-most round is held in place by only one of the lips, in contrast to most pistol magazines. Hereafter the term ‘magazine’ will mean magazines where the lips alternately retain the top-most round.
Rounds are available in the market packed either loose in a box, or bound in strips on plastic or metal stripper clips (also called retainer strips or cartridge clips). Common AR-15/M-16 stripper clips are approximately 100 mm in length, 12 mm wide, and 4 mm deep and are arranged to slidably hold the rounds in a column by flanges or ribs which engage or enter the circumferential extractor groove of the rounds. Since most military magazines hold 30 rounds, three 10-round stripper clips are required to fill one magazine. For many years the US military issued soldiers small caliber (5.56/.223) ammunition for their M-16 and M-4 assault rifles bounded in 10-round metal stripper clips (US Government Stock No. 11,010,483).
Prior to use, a firearm magazine must be loaded, charged, or filled with rounds. When a magazine is being loaded, it is necessary to depress all previously loaded rounds to provide vacant space below the lips so an additional round can be inserted or loaded into this space. Each time another round is loaded the spring is further compressed, requiring more insertion force.
When a magazine is fully loaded, the spring is fully compressed and exerts maximum upward force against the follower and rounds towards the lips.
Loading magazines with loose rounds is a relatively time-consuming, tedious, and painful practice if done with bare fingers. Pain accumulates and intensifies as more rounds are loaded against the increasing spring pressure, thus slowing the loading process. When a plurality of magazines are to be loaded, much time is required, shortening reposing, training, or combat time. In combat circumstances, slow reloading can be life-threatening.
Loading rounds from stripper clips into magazines has the advantage of speed compared to loading loose rounds, provided that all the rounds are pre-loaded onto the stripper clips first. However, it is usually more difficult to load rounds from a stripper clip than it is to load loose rounds into a magazine, one by one, since more force is required to overcome the friction of the rounds with the stripper clip, in addition to the force of the magazine's spring. Many users have cut their fingers loading rounds and have additional difficulties in cold weather. Thus, some users prefer to manually strip the rounds from the stripper clips, one by one, and load them with a loader and unloader (e.g., as described in our U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,616 and sold under the trademark LULA by Maglula, Ltd. of Israel) or with bare fingers into the magazine.
Unloading rounds from magazines is required for magazine cleaning, repair, training, overall safety, and for storage. While this can be done with bare fingers, it usually causes pain due to the difficulty of overcoming the force of the magazine's spring.
The prior art shows numerous attempts to provide adequate magazine loaders for loading bound rounds on stripper clips and loaders for loading loose rounds. The prior art also describes magazine unloaders. Some of these loaders and unloaders are shown in the following references:
EP patent 205,661 to Samet et. al., Dec. 30, 1986 describes a loader for loading both bound rounds on stripper clips and loose rounds into a magazine. This loader is very large, bulky, and comprises many parts.
GB patent 379,179 to Knoller, Aug. 25, 1932, discloses a loader for multiple stripper clips. The loader has an elongated plunger handle which doubles the total length of the loader prior to loading. Thus, this loader is more flimsy and may break or bend more easily than a compact loader. It also has many components and is more difficult to manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,355,684 to Northover, Oct. 12, 1920, describes a machine for stripping off rounds from stripper clips so they will be loose. It does not describe a magazine loader.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,014,177 to Herlach et al., Sep. 10, 1935, shows a box magazine and magazine loader having a lid to close on the rounds; the loader comprises many complex parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,403,012 to McPheters, Jul. 2, 1946, shows a large magazine loader having a lid to close on the rounds; again comprising many parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,462,836 to Barker et al., Mar. 1, 1949, discloses a supposedly improved stripper clip and guide having means to connect and feed round directly to a magazine on one of its sides, and means to connect to a magazine in a (specific) rifle on its opposite side. Loading is done by finger-pushing, so that the user's fingers will suffer, as discussed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,570 to Kunz, Mar. 5, 1957, describes a large loader having a rim and neck holders to guide the rounds at both ends for loading loose rounds using a thruster. The thruster is separable from the loader so it can get lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,137 to Kunz, May 13, 1958, describes a loader similar to Kunz's above, but having no thruster so that loading must be done with bare fingers.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,856,720 to Kunz, Oct. 21, 1958, shows a loader basically comprising a stripper clip having an integral rounds thruster sliding inside, made for holding and loading loose rounds. This loader can only load loose rounds placed inside and cannot load rounds already on stripperclips. Its slider is separable so it can get lost, and this loader is generally flimsy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,907 to Parker, May 8, 1962, describes a stripper clip composed of plastic.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,710,497 and 3,854,232 to Musgrave, Jan. 16, 1973 and Dec. 17, 1974 disclose a magazine loading guide for holding stripper clips and a stripper clip guide made for holding different stripper clips, respectively. These guides are not loaders.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,552 to Pichard et al, Nov. 4, 1975, describes a stripper clip and a machine for filling it with rounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,590 to Musgrave, Feb. 24, 1976, describes a device for emptying a magazine. This device is uncomfortable and slow to use. Further, no facilitation of loading is mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,371 to Howard, Sep. 3, 1985, discloses a plastic stripper clip and a magazine loader comprising neck and base holders for the rounds. Both the clip and the loader are attached to a skirt that fits on the circumference of the open side of the magazine. This loader is relatively large and flimsy and loading must be done with one's bare fingers without a plunger.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,511 to Csongor, Mar. 11, 1986, shows a relatively bulky loader having many parts and using an integral handle which doubles its length prior to loading.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,052 to Brown et al, Sep. 30, 1986, shows a firearm magazine and magazine loader having a lid to close on the rounds, comprising many parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,402 to Csongor, Nov. 17, 1987, shows a loader similar to that of Csongor's above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,003 to Claveau, May 23, 1995, describes a general tool for loading and unloading magazines. This tool is uncomfortable and slow in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,171 to Sally, Sep. 23, 1997, describes a very bulky, belt-held stripper clip loader which locks on the magazine; there is no rounds plunger.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,754,987 to Cheng et al., Jun. 29, 2004, and the Beta Company of Georgia, item LCMS10, shown at http://www.betaco.com, both disclose practically the same somewhat bulky stripper clip and lose rounds loader having a very large body and a separable long plunger.
Our U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,616 Nov. 2, 2004, describes a loose rounds magazine loader and unloader. However, it is not designed to load rounds from stripper clips.
Our U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,077 Jun. 13, 2006, describes a heavy duty industrial-type 30-round magazine loader for loading loose rounds, but it is also not designed to load rounds from stripper clips.
Readily available in the private market and in the military are metal guides or adapters (US Government Stock No. 11,010,484) designed to mate a loaded stripper clip with a magazine prior to loading the magazine. Loading with open stripper clips attached to this guide is fairly difficult and cumbersome; the user always risks finger injury or pain.
In summary, bare finger loading of stripper clipped rounds or loose rounds is tedious, cumbersome, and injurious. While several loaders have been provided for facilitating this chore, most are inefficient, slow, unsafe, difficult to use, uncomfortable, large, heavy, and/or have numerous parts.